Automatic head-gate.



G. L. WALKER & W. W.,BOUGHTON.

AUTOMATIC HEAD GATE.

APPLICATION FILED MAYZY, 1913.

mmmm. Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WITNESSES THE 2. .-:R!s PETERS C11. FHOTO-LITHO.. WASHINOTDN. D. t

G. L. WALKER W. W. BOUGHTON.

AUTOMATIC HEAD GATE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 21. I913.

2 SHBETS-SHEET 2.

INVEIVI'ORS THE NORRIS PEIERS C01, PHOTO-LHHO" WASHINGTON. 17.6.

@ATF @Ft GEORGE L. WALKER AND WALTER W. BOUGHTON, OF PUEBLO, COLORADO.

AUTOMATIC HEAD-GATE.

Application filed May 27, 1913.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, GEORGE L. WALKER and WALTER W. BoUGHToN, citizens of the United States, and residents of Pueblo, in the county of Pueblo and State of Colorado, have invented a certain new and useful Tmprovement in Automatic Head-Gates, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The principal object of this invention is the provision of means whereby a head-gate will serve to admit a constant and predetermined amount of water irrespective of fluctuations of head in the stream, canal,

: reservoir, or other source from which water is being taken.

A further object of the invention is the provision of means by which the discharge may be conveniently adjusted and by means of which, if desired, the gate may be employed to automatically select water for the various priorities along the ditch in case there may not be sufficient water for all, to the end that those having the earlier priorities may receive their proper amount of water and that those having later rights, even though higher on the ditch or stream, may be served only when there is an amount of water in the stream or ditch in excess of that required to furnish their appropriation to the earlier rights.

Further objects and advantages of our invention will later appear in the specification and be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the two sheets of drawings accompanying this application and forming a part hereof Figure 1 is a perspective, parts being broken away to show the interior mechanism, of a gate involving one form of our invention; Fig. 2 is a similar view showing another form of the invention; Fig. 3 is a detail in perspective showing the discharge pipe or tongue as used in connection with the modification of Figs. 2 and 6, and to which the tongue of Fig. 1 is also very similar; Figs. 4 and 5 are perspectives showing modified forms of discharge pipes; Fig. 6 shows a slightly modified form of the modification illustrated in Fig. 1; and Fig. 7 is a detached perspective showing details of a portion of the prorating attachment.

The main feature of this invention is based on the well known principle of hydraulics that the discharge of a fluid from an orifice Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 2 0 193 15.

Serial No. 770,209.

is dependent on the head above the orifice and, ignoring the friction in pipes which is negligible in very short conduits, is independent of the path taken by the fluid in reaching the orifice. This main feature of the invention therefore consists in the provision of a discharge pipe for the gate which is exterior thereto and is so mounted as to swing vertically and means for maintaining the discharge end of said pipe a predetermined distance below the surface of the water in the gate proper-which latter body of water is maintained at the same height as that in the source; and in the provision of means for adjusting and controlling the head over the discharge orifice. The form illustrated in Fig. 2 is the simplest embodiment of this idea. In that modification there is provided a box B having at the rear a gate 10 for admitting water from the source R, which may be a river, canal, lateral, reservoir or the like. On the front of the box B there is mounted the discharge means 11 which is here shown as a flattened tongue having hollow trunnions 12 at the sides of its base, which trunnions are adapted to turn in openings in the box B (in this instance shown as being located in hollow extensions 13 projecting from the front of the box though we do not wish to limit ourselves to this detail as any convenient arrangement may be employed). Within the box there is provided a float 14 carrying a frame-work comprising braced uprights 15. On the uprights 15 and at a sufficient distance above the box to always clear it there is a trussed arm 16 projecting forward and forming a mounting for the vertical link 17 which is attached to the tongue 11 by a ring 18. The float 14 thus constitutes a support for the tongue 11 and, by means of a plurality of holes 17 in the link 17 adapted to be engaged by the pin 19 passing through the arm 16, the height at which the discharge end of the tongue stands with reference to the level of the water in the box may be conveniently adjusted. In operation the gate 10 is always opened so wide as to make possible the admission to the box of more water than can be discharged through the opening in the tongue and therefore the water in the box always stands at the same level as that in the source R. The box B is sufficiently larger than the float to permit the latter to follow the tongue as the dis charge end moves in and out through its arc of movement and the link 17 is therefore always maintained vertical. The tongue being supported by a float through a link which is always vertical and maintained always with its discharge orifice at a predetermined distance below the surface of the water in the source, it follows that a constant discharge must result. The amount of this discharge through the orifice depends on the distance it is below the surface of the water in the box and this distance may be varied at will by engaging the pin 19 with the proper hole 17; when adjusted to the new position, however, the flow will again be constant.

For reasons of mechanical details of construction the modification of our invention shown in Fig. lniay be preferred. Here the box is provided with extensions 20, 21, which are substantially rectangular in shape and which form bays to accommodate a pair of floats 22, 23, which floats constitute a better balanced supporting mechanism for the tongue and therefore permit of the floats being smaller. The tongue 24: of this modification is like tongue 11 of Fig.- 3 except that it has pins 25 on its sides for attaching the bails 26finstead of the ring 18 of Fig. 3. The bails 26 unite in a supporting link 27 provided with adjusting holes 28. The link 27 passes through a slot in the horizontal member 29 and is retained in position by a locking means such as a padlock 30. The triangle members 31 rising from the ends of the floats 22, 23, form a supporting means in whichthe member 29 is pivoted.

In order that the floats 22, 23, may not be displaced from under the load placed upon them we provide anchoring means 32 therefor in the shape of a U-frame engaging trunnions 33 at the center of each side of the floats. The other end of the anchoring means is pivoted at 34 on a line with the axis of the hollow trunnion 35 of the tongue 24. The U-frames are of the same length as the tongue 24 and, being pivoted on its axis, will cause the centers 33 of the floats 22, 23, to describe the same are as the orifice of the tongue. It will therefore be evident that a vertical displacement of the floats 22, 23, resulting from a change in head in the source and consequently of the water in the box, will result in an exactly equal vertical displacement of the orifice in the tongue.

In the modification of Fig. 6 the floats 22, 23, are prevented from being horizontally displaced by providing therefor compartments formed by the ends of the bays 20, 21, and division plates 36, 37, which compartments are long enough to give the floats free play but which will prevent their being displaced from under their load. This construction, however, introduces a slight inaccuracy as the link 39 can not always be vertical and therefore the travel of the end of the tongue and of the floats is not, strictly speaking, always equal. The error introduced is, however, very slight particularly in the case of slight variations in head in the source. Fig. 6 also shows a different form of supporting frame for the link 39, but no difference in function arises therefrom and the form here shown or that illustrated in Fig. 1 may equally well be employed as desired. In this construction uprights 41 are mounted on the ends of the floats and connected at their upper ends by aframe composed of rods 12 and crossbraces 43. At the point where the braces cross a socket is formed for the reception of the link 39, which is adjustably secured therein.

In Figs. a and 5 are illustrated discharge pipes which may be substituted for the tongues of Figs. 1, 2, and 6 without departing from our invention. In Fig. f a transverse pipe el takes the place of the hollow trunnions 12 of Fig. 3 and a plurality of branch pipes 45 replace the tongue proper. riny number of these branch pipes may be employed as desired but, for ease in calculation of the amount of delivery and for other reasons of operation which will later appear in the their combined capacity should not be greater (and is preferably a trifle less) than the capacity of the two ends of the pipe 441-. Ears 46 form means for attaching the pipes to links which support the pipes as shown in either of the modifications of Figs. 1, 2, or 6.

In Fig. 5 there is illustrated a pair of unconnected pipes 17 having elbows 4:8 and 49 at the opposite endsthereof. Elbows 18 are adapted to enter openings in the sides of extensions 13 or 21, 20, and the pipes being properly supported by links connected to ears 16, the construction of this modification will evidently operate in the same manner as the other modifications described, the water being discharged through the elbows .49.

The various embodiments of our invention described has each its own advantages incident to its form of construction and which particularly adapts it to certain conditions which the gate may be called upon to meet. No form can therefore be said to be preferred for all situations but we have illustrated the best forms known to us.

The construction of the float bays and the mounting of the discharge pipe supporting mechanism shown in Fig. 1 will result in the greatest degree of accuracy, while the construction shown in Fig. 6 will approximate the results of that shown in Fig. 1, if the conditions as heretofore set out are favorable. The modification of Fig. 2 is adapted to gates of small eapacity-particularly where the fluctuations in head are specification,

slight and the tongue may therefore be made short. We believe that the form of discharge pipes shown in Fig. 5, when placed in the mounting of Fig. 1, to be the most accurate of all. This is for the reason that the discharge opening is circular and swings in its own planethus avoiding changing the coeflicient of discharge of the orifice due to changing the angle which said orifice makes with the horizontal.

The flattened tongue forms, however, are advantageous where the available head through the gate is small. For the reason that to make the device measure true to the laws of discharge through an orifice there should be some head over the top of the said orifice and for other reasons connected with its operation, it is desirable that there should be such a headeven though slight-over the top of the discharge orifice. It will be obvious that this condition may be at tained with less difference in head between the source and the ditch with a long narrow opening than with a circular one of the same capacity.

A further advantage arises from the use of two or more separate pipes 47. This advantage lies in the fact that one or more of the pipes (if more than two are used) may be raised to an inoperative position and the capacity of the gate correspondingly decreased. This enables a wide range of adjustment, and, together with the adjustment of the head on single pipes, enables any desired flow from almost zero to maximum to be had.

Baflie plates 50 should preferably be located so as to break any direct flow from the opening under the gate 10 to the entrance to the discharge pipes. This is for the reason that if the flow is direct there may be current enough to carry some portions of sand, gravel, or debris into the gate and through it into the ditch. We have found that with the proper operation of the gate comparatively speaking no sand or gravel passes into the gate and consequently none into the ditchand this is true even though the gate be placed with its bottom considerably below the bed of the stream from which the water is drawn.

The attachment for selecting priorities is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 7. Cleats 51 having therein a series of holes 52 are attached to the inner sides of the extensions 20, 21, adjacent but short of the extremity of the discharge pipe, or mounted in any desired manner in the path of the swinging dis charge pipe. A stop-bar composed of telescoping pipes 53, 54 (see Fig. 7 is adapted to be received into the holes 52 and, having been properly located and extended, to be locked against removal by a pad-lock 56 secured in holes 55 in the smaller of the pipes. This stop-bar will prevent the discharge pipes falling below a certain point, which point is that at which the water in the stream or ditch must be running to supply the priorities below. When the water again reaches the required height in the headgate box it will begin again to run out of the discharge pipe and as the water rises this stream will increase until the gate is delivering the number of second feet for which it has been set; when this point is reached the floats will begin to act and prevent more than the predetermined amount passing through. This will be found to be of particular advantage in ditches which are late in priority but are entitled to a certain amount of water when there are fiood waters running. The gate can be set at any time and will automatically begin to operate the moment the flood waters come without the necessity of attendance or communication with the water commissioner. At the same time when the flood waters do come the gate will serve to keep out an excess of water which would be sufiicient to cut the banks of the canal.

There are instances where a ditch is entitled to a certain amount of water and also, when the run exceeds a certain amount, to a percentage of the excess. Our gate can be set so as to select these proratas. If the ditch is not entitled to any water until a certain amount passes, the stop-bar 53 is employed. Then when that point has been passed, the automatically operating features are brought into play to deliver the predetermined amount up to the point where there is such a flood running that the ditch becomes entitled to its share of the excess. At this point another stop rod 57 is placed above the discharge pipe and thus holds it from rising farther as the flood water rises. The floats will accordingly be forcibly sunk, the head on the discharge pipes increased and the flow therethrough correspondingly increased.

It will be obvious that, aside from preventing access of floating debris to the box and being a convenience in excluding the water for repairs and the like, the gate 10 is not an essential element of our device and could be omitted without departing from our invention. In fact the form shown in Fig. 2, for instance, could be placed with the front wall of the box B in line with the bank of the canal or other source of water and the remainder of the box omittedthe float 14 riding on the water in the canal or other source.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent. is:

1. In combination, a source of water supply, a float therein, a discharge pipe for delivering water from said source, said pipe being mounted to swing in a vertical direction, and means connecting the discharge end of said pipe with said float, whereby said discharge end will be maintained with a constant relation to the level of the water in said source irrespective of fluctuations in said level.

2. In combination, a source of Water sup.- ply, a float therein, a discharge pipe exterior to said source for delivering water therefrom, said pipe being mounted to swing in a vertical direction, and means for connecting the discharge end of said pipe with said float.

3. In combination, a head-gate box, a float therein, a discharge pipe for delivering water from said head-gate box, said pipe being mounted to swing in a vertical direction, and means for connecting the discharge end of said pipe with said float.

1. In combination, a head-gate box, a float therein, a discharge pipe exterior to said head-gate box for delivering water therefrom, said pipe being mounted to swing in a vertical direction, and means for connecting the discharge end of said pipe with said float.

5. In combination, a head-gate box, a float therein, a discharge pipe exterior to said head-gate box for delivering water therefrom, said pipe being mounted to swing in a vertical direction, means for connecting the discharge end of said pipe with said float, and means for admitting water to said box in excess of the capacity of said discharge pipe.

6. In combination, a headgate box formed with a pair of extensions thereon, floats in said extensions, a discharge pipe for said box mounted to swing vertically in the opening between said extensions, and connections between said floats and the discharge end of said pipe.

7. In combination, a head-gate box formed with a pair of extensions thereon, floats in said extensions, means for preventing horizontal displacement of said floats, a discharge pipe for said box mounted to swing vertically in the opening between said extensions, and connections between said floats and the discharge end of said pipe.

8. In combination, a headgate box formed with. a pair of extensions thereon,

. floats in said extensions, means anchoring said floats to move in an arc of a circle, a discharge pipe for said box mounted to swing vertically in the opening between said extensions, and connections between said floats and the discharge end of said pipe.

9. In combination, a head-gate box formed with a pair of .extensions thereon, floats in said extensions, a discharge pipe for said box mounted to swing vertically in the opening between said extensions, connections between said floats and the discharge end of said pipe, and means confining said floats to movement in arcs of the same circle as that described by the mouth of said discharge pipe.

10. In combination, a source of water supply, a discharge pipe exterior to said source for delivering water therefrom, said pipe being journaled to oscillate in a vertical plane and having its discharge orifice of smaller vertical dimensions than its ournals.

11. In combination, a source of water supply, a discharge tongue exterior to said source for delivering water therefrom, said tongue being journaled to oscillate in a vertical plane, the dimensions of the discharge orifice of said tongue being great in a line parallel with the axis thereof as compared with the dimensions in a plane at right angles thereto.

12. In combination, a head-gate box, a tongue for discharging water therefrom and having hollow trunnions at one end entering openings in said box, said trunnions forming a means for admission of water to said tongue and also an oscillatory mounting therefor, the discharge end of said tongue having a relatively greater length than depth.

13. In combination, a head-gate box, a tongue for discharging water therefrom and having hollow trunnions at one end entering openings in said box, said trunnions forming a means of admission of water to said tongue and also an oscillatory mounting therefor, the discharge end of said tongue having a relatively greater length than depth, float means in said box, and connections between said float means and said tongue whereby a displacement of said float means in a vertical direction will cause a corresponding vertical displacement of the discharge end of said tongue.

lat. In combination, a head-gate box,float mechanism therein, a discharge pipe exterior to said head-gate box for delivering water therefrom, said pipe being mounted to swing in a vertical direction, and means connecting said float mechanism and said discharge pipe whereby a displacement of said float mechanism in a vertical direction will cause an equal vertical displacement of the discharge end of said pipe.

15. In combination, a head-gate box, float mechanism therein, a discharge pipe exterior to said head-gate box for delivering water therefrom, said pipe being mounted to swing in a vertical direction, and adjustable means connecting said float mechanism and said discharge pipe whereby, when adjusted, a displacement of said float mechanism in a vertical direction will cause an equal vertical displacement of the discharge end of said pipe.

16. In combination, a source of water supply, a float therein, a discharge pipe for delivering water from said source, said pipe being mounted to swing in a vertical direction, and adjustable means connecting the discharge end of said pipe with said float.

17. In combination, a head-gate box, a float therein, a discharge pipe exterior to said head-gate box for delivering water therefrom, said pipe being mounted to swing in a vertical direction, means connecting said pipe with said float, and means for limiting the travel of said pipe.

18. In combination, a head-gate box, a float therein, a dischar e pipe exterior to said head-gate box for delivering water therefrom, said pipe being mounted to swing in a vertical direction, means connecting said pipe with said float, and means for limiting the downward travel of said pipe.

19. In combination, a head-gate box, a float therein, a discharge pipe exterior to said head-gate box for delivering water therefrom, said pipe being mounted to swing in a vertical direction, means connecting said pipe with said float, and a stop in the path of said pipe for limiting its travel.

20. In combination, a head-gate box, a float therein, a discharge pipe exterior to said head-gate box for delivering water therefrom, said pipe being mounted to swing in a vertical direction, means connecting said pipe with said float, and an adjustable stop in the path of said pipe for limiting its travel.

21. In combination, a head-gate box, a float therein, a discharge pipe exterior to said head-gate box for delivering water therefrom, said pipe being mounted to swing in a vertical direction, means connecting said pipe with said float positively acting to raise the pipe but not to lower it, and an adjustable stop in the path of said pipe for limiting its downward travel.

22. In combination, a head-gate box, a

float therein, a discharge pipe exterior to said head-gate box for delivering water therefrom, said pipe being mounted to swing in a vertical direction, means connecting said pipe with said float, and means for limiting the upward travel of said pipe.

23. In combination, a head-gate box, a float therein, a discharge pipe exterior to said head-gate box for delivering water therefrom, said pipe being mounted to swing in a vertical direction, means connecting said pipe with said float, means for limiting the downward travel of said pipe and means for limiting the upward travel of said pipe.

24. In combination, a head-gate box, a float therein, a discharge pipe for delivering water from said box, said pipe being mounted to swing in a vertical direction, means connecting said pipe with said float, and adjustable means for limiting the travel of said pipe.

25. In combination, a head-gate box, a float therein, a discharge pipe for delivering water from said box, said pipe being mounted to swing in a vertical direction, means connecting said pipe with said float, and adjustable means for limiting the upward and downward travel of said pipe.

26. In combination, a head-gate box, a float therein, a discharge pipe for delivering water from said box, said pipe being mounted to swing in a vertical direction, means connecting said pipe with said float, and means for limiting the upward travel of said pipe.

In testimony whereof, we hereunto aflix our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE L. WALKER. WALTER W. BOUGHTON.

Witnesses:

ANNA H. ARTHUR, HORACE POLLARD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained. for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of latents,

' i Washington, D. G. 

